‘Gideon Falls #8:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Gideon Falls is a mystery - both a psychological mystery and a supernatural mystery. The characters are tied together by threads, their individual histories creating a tapestry that’s slowly weaving together to form a greater picture, a picture that revolves around an ominous structure called the Black Barn, which feels right out of one of David Lynch’s nightmares. Presumably, inside this structure is a creature made of red eyes, shadows, and a smile that’s all teeth – too many teeth. The creature - or demon - spirit is unnatural in a way that doesn’t feel like it can be drawn, that it just sort of lives somewhere between the reality on the page and the space you’re inhabiting. It’s that feeling you get when you’re lying in your bed at night and you think you feel something staring at you from your open closet or in the shadows across the room. It’s this unnerving sensation that something is just out of sight - that can’t quite be given words - that affects all of the characters of Gideon Falls.

Norton Sinclair is a recluse who has been seeing a therapist, Dr. Angel Xu. You see, Sinclair has been methodically collecting scraps of things from around the city and keeping them in order to build something. He doesn’t even know what. He has seen the Black Barn, and he has heard the voice of the smiling man. In recent issues, some of these mysteries have been given answers, only to be replaced with greater threats. Meanwhile, in a rural area, a priest who has made some past mistakes befriends the local sheriff, only to discover a dead body. He begins to join her on some escapades that also seem to revolve around the Black Barn. In this recent issue, writer Jeff Lemire finally begins to connect some of the dots between the disparate storylines. It’s a thrilling experience.

Gideon Falls isn’t just a horror story; it is a psychologically riveting experience. From the paneling and the design to the colors, everything is created to warp the reality for the readers, to temporarily undermine their expectations and give them something completely unexpected, but 100% needed.